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Footballers cost an absurd amount of money these days, and because clubs are quite capable of splashing the cash, transfer records will keep getting broken.
In 1980, Barcelona spent less than €2 million on Bernd Schuster. A decade later, Juventus spent a record €12.90 million to bring Roberto Baggio to Turin. The year 2000 saw Luis Figo move to the Santiago Bernabeu for €60 million.
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Clearly, transfer fees have skyrocketed over the last few decades, and it's really just a matter of time until Neymar's €222 million record move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 will be surpassed. Gone are the days when a wonderkid could make a €7 million move to a big club; that's literally money for agent fees.
However, with massive transfer fees popping up all over the place for any player with one good season under their belt, there are sure to be some overpriced signings. Some critics might argue that Kylian Mbappe was certainly overpriced when PSG bought the star for a base fee of €145 million.
However, with his World Cup win and brilliant performances season after season for le Parisien, it's hard to think of Mbappe as overpriced. PSG may have paid serious money to snatch the star from Monaco, but he's certainly lived up to the billing at such a young age.
Without further ado, let's take a look at ten football stars who were bought for far more than they were worth; stars who have been unable to live up to their ginormous transfer fees with consistent performances and trophies.
#10 Tanguy Ndombele | €62 million + €10 million in addo-ons, Tottenham Hotspur
In Ligue 1, Tanguy Ndombele blossomed and progressed brilliantly as a footballer. Although he was on loan, his performances for Lyon during his debut season inspired the team to a third-place finish in the league, with a Champions League spot to boot.
It didn't come as a surprise when Lyon triggered the option to secure Ndombele on a permanent deal, parting with €8 million in the process. His brilliant performances on the pitch continued, driving interest from top European clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur.
When Tottenham Hotspur signed the star, it looked like Jose Mourinho had finally fixed the team's issues in the holding midfield position. Although he started well for Spurs, Ndombele struggled to maintain his form, eventually falling out with the manager and managing only 29 appearances that season. Although he improved in his sophomore season, the star has had generally okay performances, but they're hardly worth the €62 million he signed on for.
#9 Luka Jovic | €60 million, Real Madrid
In Eintracht Frankfurt, Luka Jovic's career flourished, with the striker seemingly scoring goals at will and lighting up the Bundesliga with his prowess in front of goal. Top clubs in Europe quickly took notice as the young star set the Europa League on fire, scoring twice against Chelsea in both legs of the semi-final and netting 10 goals in the competition.
During the summer of 2019, Real Madrid signed Jovic for €60 million, bringing him to the Santiago Bernabeu. However, his career in La Liga found itself on a downward spiral as the star seemed unable to find his footing at his new club. After managing just two goals in 27 appearances for Los Blancos, the Spanish giants quickly loaned him back to Eintracht Frankfurt, where he has had little better luck in front of goal. His €60 million fee was quite high, and with the star unable to find the net in 6 games for Madrid this season, it looks like he's just become deadwood.
#8 Nicolas Pepe | €79 million, Arsenal
Although Lille struggled in Ligue 1 at the time, Nicolas Pepe was the club's shining light. Scintillating performances from the wing caught the interest of top clubs, including Arsenal and Barcelona, and when he finished the 2018-19 season with 22 goals, the north London club put in a bid for the star. However, the €79 million they paid - more than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's record €62 million - for Pepe might have been way too much.
While with Lille, Pepe scored a brilliant 37 goals in 80 appearances, averaging nearly a goal every two games. His Arsenal record, so far, has been the opposite, with the star managing just 25 goals in 95 appearances for the Gunners, averaging a goal every five games. This season has continued in a similar manner for Pepe, as he has managed just one goal in six games.
#7 Kepa Arrizabalaga | €80 million, Chelsea
After starring and performing between the posts for Athletic Bilbao from 2016 to 2018, Chelsea broke the world record for goalkeeper transfer fees by paying his €80 million release clause, making Kepa Arrizabalaga the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. He started his career at Stamford Bridge in fine form, keeping six clean sheets early on in the season.
Notably, the star goalkeeper refused to be substituted by Maurizio Sarri during the 2019 League Cup final.
Although he would go on to win the Europa League with Chelsea, a series of unfortunate mistakes led to Kepa getting booed by Blues fans and getting relegated to the bench.
By 2020, Edouard Mendy had joined Chelsea as the new first-team goalkeeper under Frank Lampard. Kepa's fortunes changed somewhat positively as Thomas Tuchel opted to play him more often than Lampard did, but an €80 million goalkeeper getting stuck on the bench seems quite hard to comprehend.
#6 Eden Hazard | €100 million (+ €46.1 million in add-ons), Real Madrid
A world-class player in his own right, it's quite understandable why Real Madrid opened their checkbooks to spend such an amount of money on Eden Hazard. His performances for Lille in Ligue 1 were spectacular. His creativity and presence for Chelsea in the Premier League were simply glorious. He would almost be worth the price if he could've continued in such fine form.
However, his Real Madrid days have been rather sub-par. Riddled with poor form and struggling with injuries, Hazard has made just 51 appearances for Madrid since 2019, scoring just five goals - this includes the eight appearances he has had so far this season. Notably, the star played more games for Chelsea during his first season in England alone than he has played throughout his Madrid career.
#5 Ousmane Dembele | €105 million (+ €40 million in add-ons), Barcelona
For someone who scored 12 goals and made 20 assists for Borussia Dortmund during his debut season in the Bundesliga, Ousmane Dembele's performances for Barcelona have been too inconsistent to be worth the massive amount it cost to bring the youngster to Camp Nou. With injuries hampering the star, Dembele has only managed to cross the 10-goal mark twice in four seasons.
So far this season, the star is yet to play for Barcelona, having picked up an injury while on international duty with France during Euro 2020. Although he remains a potential star player, these consistent injuries might hamper his progress in the game.
With the player in the final year of his contract at Barcelona and reports indicating that he might leave on a free, the €105 million fee paid for Dembele might look even more of a mistake in hindsight.
#4 Jack Grealish | £100 million, Manchester City
When Manchester City announced that they had bought Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, it was the reported fee that shook the footballing world. The Cityzens handed Aston Villa £100 million, effectively making Grealish the most expensive English player in history.
The 26-year-old might have been Aston Villa's best player for nearly a decade, but is he worth such a price tag?
So far this season, he has scored two goals and made two assists in ten games for City. That's hardly as good as Gabriel Jesus' seven direct goal contributions in nine games or even Ferran Torres' four direct goal contributions in just seven games.
Manchester City might have just spent world-class fees on an above-average player, but it's still too soon to tell. Grealish might still light up the league before the season comes to an end.
#3 Antoine Griezmann | €120 million, Barcelona
Atletico Madrid have been the real winners in Antoine Griezmann's case. They bought him for just €30 million in 2014 and he won three trophies with them in five years. His transfer to Barcelona saw Atletico receive €120 million, but after poor performances and racial controversies, Barca have loaned the star back to Atletico with an option-to-buy clause set at just €40 million.
Although he spent three seasons at Barcelona, Griezmann won only one trophy with the club. His debut season saw the star falter in front of goal, eventually scoring just 15 goals in 48 appearances, a stark difference from the 29 goals in 49 appearances he pulled off at Atletico.
His performances at the Wanda Metropolitano saw the star score just over one goal per two games on average. However, at Barcelona, he could only manage one goal in over three games on average. These are still great stats for most strikers, but hardly for one that cost €120 million.
#2 Phillipe Coutinho | €142 million, Barcelona
Barcelona seriously need to curb their spending habits, especially now that the club is struggling financially, because Philippe Coutinho is their third player on this list. Granted, the former Liverpool star seemed to effortlessly light up Anfield with his driving runs and remarkable right foot. However, his best post-Liverpool performance was for Bayern when he scored two goals against his parent club Barcelona.
Although he scored over 10 goals per season in his first two seasons at Barcelona, Coutinho couldn't adapt to life at the the Nou Camp. His returns on the pitch were great for most average players, but hardly anything for a €140 million player.
When Barca loaned him off to Bayern in the Bundesliga, the star flourished somewhat, scoring a goal every three league games on average. He also won the Champions League with Bayern Munich. Coutinho is back at Barcelona now, but with 6 appearances and zero goals in all competitions this season, it's clear that Barca just wasted the extra €100 million.
#1 Neymar | €222 million, Paris Saint-Germain
Brazilian star Neymar is highly regarded as one of the very best players in the world, and rightly so. His performances at Santos included a season where he scored 42 goals in 60 games. His short four-year stint at Barcelona also saw him score 39 goals in just 51 games.
Clearly aware of his world-class status, PSG's decision to activate his release clause made sense. However, things have been bleak for the star since his exit from Camp Nou.
Neymar has no issues scoring goals, he is still the same prolific goalscorer he was at his two former clubs. However, fitness troubles and consistent injuries have seen the star sidelined far too often. He scored 28 goals in 30 games during his debut season, but the star never had lower than a 41-game season before that. The next two seasons would have him play only 17 and 15 league games respectively. If Neymar is to live up to his transfer fee, he needs to sort out his consistent injury woes so he actually gets time on the pitch.
